It’s helpful for you to put together some simple personal financial statements. These can be much like those that are used in business. They might include your personal balance sheet, an income statement, and other relevant statements.

In the case of a balance sheet and income statement, the assets and liabilities, as well as your income and expenses, are included in the statements. These can be combined, for example in the case of husband and wife, or separate income statements and balance sheets could be put together for each person in your family.

If you are using a professional, they may have forms already made up that you can use for these purposes.

2. Identify Your Goals and Objectives

This will take some thought, and is one of the most important foundations to your financial planning.

Put some time and thought into it, and the rest will fall into place much better.

3. Compare Your Current Scenario With Alternative Ways To Handle Each Part of Your Financial Planning

Relate it to your goals and objectives. Get the advice and information you need from others, including professionals, and make decisions for changing what is the status quo.

4. Develop and Put Into Place Your Plan

Not someone else’s plan, but YOUR plan.

Putting together the facts of your current situation, your potential future situation, your goals and objectives, and looking at those alternative ways of handling your case, you can lay down a plan that, while flexible, will act as a map for your future years in planning your finances.